Knock Knock

by Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk's hilarious short story Knock-Knock, is featured in the December 2010 issue of Playboy. The story “Knock Knock” is about a boy who grows up with his dad always telling these horrible jokes.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Audiobook

14 pages, Unknown Binding

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

Written in stolen moments under truck chassis and on park benches to a soundtrack of The Downward Spiral and Pablo Honey, Fight Club came into existence. The adaptation of Fight Club was a flop at the box office, but achieved cult status on DVD. The film’s popularity drove sales of the novel. Chuck put out two novels in 1999, Survivor and Invisible Monsters. Choke, published in 2001, became Chuck’s first New York Times bestseller. Chuck’s work has always been infused with personal experience, and his next novel, Lullaby, was no exception. Chuck credits writing Lullaby with helping him cope with the tragic death of his father. Diary and the non-fiction guide to Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, were released in 2003. While on the road in support of Diary, Chuck began reading a short story entitled 'Guts,' which would eventually become part of the novel Haunted.

In the years that followed, he continued to write, publishing the bestselling Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Tell-All, a 'remix' of Invisible Monsters, Damned, and most recently, Doomed.

Chuck also enjoys giving back to his fans, and teaching the art of storytelling has been an important part of that. In 2004, Chuck began submitting essays to ChuckPalahniuk.net on the craft of writing. These were 'How To' pieces, straight out of Chuck's personal bag of tricks, based on the tenants of minimalism he learned from Tom Spanbauer. Every month, a “Homework Assignment” would accompany the lesson, so Workshop members could apply what they had learned. (all 36 of these essays can currently be found on The Cult's sister-site, LitReactor.com).

Then, in 2009, Chuck increased his involvement by committing to read and review a selection of fan-written stories each month. The best stories are currently set to be published in Burnt Tongues, a forthcoming anthology, with an introduction written by Chuck himself.

His next novel, Beautiful You, is due out in October 2014.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tale of a man telling jokes at his dying father's bedside, and reminiscing about their past, is full of sentimental pathos - but is also guaranteed to have you cringing in discomfort.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a horror story in the form of jokes. A young man is taught nothing by his father except how to tell jokes perfectly. Humor does not stop the fact that mother abandons them or that cancer kills his father or that the son is committed to a home for the insane.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wasn't telling the joke... i was the joke.

[Anirudh Mannattil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off strong with some solid satirical underpinnings and sentimental value, but fizzles out towards the end unfortunately.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

solemn satire at its finest.

[Elliot Chalom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as part of Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread, Palahniuk's recent short story collection. With "Knock Knock" the first story in the collection I wasn't all that optimistic for the book overall. The setup is quite good, but I thought Palahniuk gave up on the story and just slapped on an ending so that it could be considered a short story, rather than an abandoned lengthier idea. Several of the stories in this collection feel that way - like the unfinished thoughts of a novelist given endings for the sole purpose of having short stories.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man I just love Chuck's style. This is a tightly written and painful read, all the moreso since my father underwent prostate cancer treatment today.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was funny, made me think of what type of relationship do I have with my dad.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who could guess "knock-knock" jokes and bad humor could be so entertaining and so messed-up.